Treacherous Paths
by Elven Warrior Princess
Summary: Thranduil goes on a mission of his own but not everything goes according to plan.
1. Chapter 1

Thranduil was riding slowly along the path going through Greenwood the Great

**Treacherous Paths **

A/N: This is taken just before The Last Battle and just after Oropher established a realm in Greenwood. There is going to be a few mentioning's of events that took place in Elfling Mischief, so I suggest you read that first. But this not a direct sequel so if you feel you don't want to read that first then that's up to you, you won't lose yourself if you don't ;D. One last thing there is a line from LOTR, not exactly the same but very similar, I want to see if anyone can spot it, if you think you found it let me know.

Summary: Thranduil goes on a mission of his own but not everything goes according to plan.

Disclaimer: I do not own any places or characters of Tolkien's only the ones that are not recognisable.

**Chapter 1**

Thranduil was riding slowly along the path going through Greenwood the Great. His mission was to visit Laketown in a disguise so as to not reveal himself to be an elf. His father, king Oropher, did not know of this, he thought his son was going on a scouting mission, making sure there were no goblins in the near vicinity. Thranduil hated lying to his parents, his mother might have understood, but his father, on the other hand, would have forbade him from going, having no great love for the edain and did not want anything to do with their mortal neighbours. Thranduil knew that they could prove to be useful allies someday not to mention invaluable to trades. The only real challenging part was to be able to walk amongst them, learn their ways without foiling his cover.

Thranduil was fairly different to most elves in appearance. He was shorter than most and not likely to grow any taller; he was taller than his mother, Theliel, though, but only just. His father was a good head taller than him seemingly at times towering him. There were faint freckles lightly dusting his nose and cheeks almost invisible but still there on closer inspection. His skin tone was also slightly more tanned than the others. He wasn't even as lithe as everyone else, he might have been considered bulky amongst the elves, not to say that he was, his muscles were more developed from days of hard labour in helping to develop a kingdom in Greenwood, he was about the same build as the elves who worked in the smithies. His hair was spun gold with highlights from the sun, it grew just past his shoulders but the fringe was cut to come just below his jaw so when tied back it would still hang in his face. His entire appearance brought on speculation and rumours from the others, rumours that his mother might have slept with an edain. The rumours were finally put to rest when he began developing features from his father as well, mainly his sculpted cheek bones. The only explanation for his tanned and slightly freckled appearance was that he spent a lot of time out doors; not that that was strange with elves, since they practically existed outdoors, all that was come up was that he was exceptional. As he grew older, the ellyth would swoon over him for not only was he beautiful to look at he was also very handsome, one slow smile and glimpse from his piercing, sapphire eyes and any woman would practically fall at his feet.

Coming to the edge of the vast forest, Thranduil took a minute to admire the Misty Mountains and thinking of his best friend, lord Elrond, who lived to beyond those mountains. He longed to see him again but his father did everything in his power to allow them to see each other as little as possible, not only because of what he and his twin did so many years ago when he was an elfling but also because of the fact that he was a Noldo, and they were not to be associated with. Thinking of Elrond also brought back memories of Elros, his long lost gwador. He passed away years ago because of his chosen morality.

Shaking his head he spurred his magnificent horse into a gallop, "Noro lim, Barasath, we have a long road ahead of us still."

Barasath was indeed a great horse. His manner fitted with his name perfectly, Fiery Shadow, he had quite the temper and was loyal only to Thranduil, who was the only who could come near him, much less ride him. The stable-hands' nightmares were often haunted by this beast. Thranduil would stand and laugh while watching the poor hands try and control the horse, not even their elven tongues could sedate him. After he'd seen enough, Thranduil would relinquish the stable-hands of their task and handle Barasath as though he was nothing but a foul. Standing at an intimidating 17 hands; his colouring was pitch black right down to his humongous hooves. His tail and main were smooth and long, seldom having knots. Barasath's glossy coat was so black it would shine blue in the sunlight.

Barasath was a gift from his father when he reached his majority which was three days passed. He was now at the age where he was to find his soul mate. Even though just about every young elleth was vying for his attention he was not particularly interested at the moment, he preferred to just enjoy life while he still could but his father made that very hard by pressuring him so that he would produce an heir and prolong the line of Oropher.

Quickly they made their way to river that would lead them towards Laketown. The sun was lowering in the sky when they arrived at the water's edge. All of a sudden a black-feathered arrow flew and struck Thranduil on his right shoulder. The impact was so forceful that it knocked him off his horse.

From the ground he turned and looked up, "Oh no, just what I need – a run in with some witless goblins, adar is not going to be happy should he somehow hear about this." He muttered to himself. There were about ten goblins in this group; they must have been heading towards the mountains. Even though this particular band consisted of a few goblins he was still outnumbered.

Whipping out his arrows he began shooting as many as he could with careful aim. Still the ones that were shot were seemingly replaced by another two, "Impossible, there cannot be that many." Scanning around he noticed another group joining the first, "I don't think I will much care for the ending." His horse was standing next to him, ready to protect him once the goblins arrived, "Rima ten'ta, Barasath! Nurta!" The horse ignored him and stood his ground, "Asca! Before they come too close." The horse snorted and stared at him as though asking 'Do you really expect me flee? You have another thing coming.' Thranduil sighed, "I haven't got time for this, very well, stay but watch yourself, get help if I need it. And ONLY if I need it." The horse nodded happy he got his own way.

Once the goblins came too close to shoot any more arrows Thranduil pulled out his twin knives, the ones he won from Elrond and Elros in their little competition of archery. Thranduil screamed his war-cry, "Gurth gothrim lye!!" Not a split second later him and his faithful stead were in the midst of them fighting for their lives.

Thranduil hacked and slashed at any goblin that came within his proximity. He fought with a skill beyond comprehension and with a speed none could surpass. He might have been slightly bulky but he was still very much agile, quick and flexible.

Barasath bared his teeth at anyone who came too close followed by biting and kicking, he was determined to protect his master at whatever cost.

Thranduil came face to face with a larger goblin, no not a goblin, it was an orc, there were orcs in the ranks as well it seemed. Fighting hand to hand with the orc Thranduil did not notice one of the goblins creeping up behind him. His horse screamed to warn him. With lightning-speed reflexes he managed to push the orc away and turn to parry the attack, yet he was still not quick enough for the goblin still managed to bury its scimitar in his side on the left. Thranduil screamed in agony yet he carried on fighting even though his eyesight became hazy and his movements sluggish he could barely defend himself but he somehow managed to stop any weapon from hitting its target.

Due to the blood-loss and possible poison Thranduil felt his knees give was soon kneeling on the ground too weak to stand. The orc was leering down at him mere inches from his face, "Ready to die, elf? I shall enjoy ripping that pretty head from your shoulders and keep it as my trophy." The orc began guffawing, his rotten teeth glimmering ominously under the moonlight.

Thranduil calmly stared into the eyes of the orc and whispered sinisterly, "You will die before your stroke falls, Feuyaer." Then with a final effort he plunged both his knives into the hideous creature's throat. Thranduil grimaced when the black blood hit him directly in his face. While panting heavily he tried to raise himself off the ground, the fight was not yet over, after all, the small task proved to much for him at that moment and he collapsed again this time, though darkness swept over him and the last thing he heard before unconscious took over was the loud neighing of his horse.

Җ

A voice seemed to be echoing in the distant. He tried to make sense of it but could not even make out what the voice was saying. He tried to return to his unconscious state but the voice became persistent and he slowly began making words out, "Open your eyes and awaken."

Thranduil found the voice much nearer now and he also found that it was addressing him, "Pain." It was all he could manage to croak out." He heard soft footsteps growing softer then a little louder.

"Here, drink this." The same voice he heard commanded.

Eyes still closed Thranduil turned his head away, he was not sure what was being offered to him.

"I said drink." The voice spoke a little harshly, "It is merely water."

Thranduil still kept his eyes closed but he took hold of the canter that was being held towards his mouth. Feeling a soft yet slightly rough hand beneath his, he allowed the hand to assist him. After he took a sip, his head fell back to the ground again. Lying still for a moment memories were slowly coming back of the battle. Catching the person behind the voices off guard his eyes flew open he tried sitting up, "Barasath! Barasath! Where is he?"

"Easy! Easy, if you are talking about the horse, he's fine, merely a flesh wound on his right flank, nothing to worry about."

He felt hands forcefully holding him down, making sure he couldn't get up. Finally relenting he looked up to see who the stranger was that saved their lives. Definitely a woman, if the voice didn't give it away her figure sure did. Her hair was the colour of pure and startling silver as though made of mithril, only reaching the base of her neck. It was braided all around leaving a few loose strands to blow in the soft breeze. Her slightly almond shaped eyes were the unusual colour of violet, certainly a unique colour among the elves. The woman's shapely and full lips were the deepest of reds, making a rose look pale in comparison.

Thranduil observed her closer, as beautiful as she was he could see her eyes were hard and by the tones of her voice he could tell she was a little rough around the edges. He noticed that she seemed to be studying him as well albeit more suspiciously.

"Are you just going to sit there staring or are you going to tell me who you are, where you came from and what you are doing all the way out here in the middle of no where? Tula, hama neva i'aur" Her clipped tones brought him out of his trance.

"I could ask the same of you." That was his only response as he slowly made his way towards the fire she made.

"You could except I asked you first." She assisted him in sitting down.

"I come from Greenwood the Great, not far from here. My name is –"He faltered a bit, he wasn't sure he could trust her with his identity yet, "Erynion son of Naracion." He almost snickered at the name he gave his father even though he couldn't be closer to the truth, "I was on my way to the town of men – Laketown when I had a run in with the goblins."

"And you took quite the beating back there as well. Greenwood you say?"

"Aye. Mankoi lle irma sint?"

"No reason. Why would you want dealings with the mortals, they are nothing but trouble."

Thranduil let out a dry chuckle, "You sound just like my father. I am merely interested in them and want to learn more of their ways." At least there was a bit of truth in that.

"You seem to enjoy holding the truth back, don't you?"

Thranduil stared at her in shock, "What do you mean?"

"I have lived in the wild for years now; living like a ranger. I have only my instincts to help me survive; if I had not seen you or your horse in the centre of the skirmish I would've been able to avoid them entirely. I have learnt to see the unseen and detect the undetectable. You are almost convincing except that I know how to look for deception. I feel I can trust you but I cannot trust your answers. Oh, by the way, your fighting skills are excellent, you managed to kill quite a few of the goblins before going down. Lle maa quel."

The compliment at the end of her short speech took him slightly off guard – it seemed out of place with her. She obviously did not give praises randomly unless by her standards it was deserved, "Er, diole lle. Mani naa essa en lle?"

"Celebrial."

"Manke naa lle tuulo, Celebrial?" He loved how her name rolled off his tongue.

"Like you, I once came from Greenwood. I live out here in the wilds now." She answered softly, "My village was attacked by goblins, my parents were killed in the incident – I fled and ended up here ever since."

"Amin hiraetha. That must've been years ago for I had seen the ruins that are still there, it was the outermost village. We were told of it by the Sindarin elves, just after we arrived."

"You arrived?"

"We were one of the families that fled Menegroth with the new king to live in Greenwood – I'm one of the Silvan elves."

"I see. You were right, it was a long time ago; I was no more than twelve at the time. At a young age I was forced to fend for myself." Dark memories clouded her eyes, giving them a stormy look, "Aiya! I promised myself I'd forget about that day and move on with my life." She straightened her back and forced her resolve to come back into her steely façade, "Malia ten' vasa? I managed to catch a couple of conies while you were still out."

"Yes please. How long exactly was I out for?"

"Just over a day. You can be glad I know how to counteract the poison otherwise you would be on your way to the unknown by now."

"I owe you my thanks and my life."

"Forget about it."

"I cannot, you did an honourable deed when you could have just left me to the goblins."

Celebrial sneered, "I told you to forget about it, I will not have you grovelling at my feet in gratification."

Thranduil became offended, "So be it; have it your way. I was merely offering you my thanks."

"Amin uuma merna ta!"

Thranduil only huffed at that. An uncomfortable silence descended upon them, neither willing to break it. Barasath walked slowly towards the warmth of the fire, he sniffed at his master – checking to make sure he was alright. Thranduil distractedly stroked his nose taking comfort in the presence of his companion.

Celebrial suddenly broke the silence, "You owe a lot to him as well; he stood over you defending you until I arrived. He was also willing to let me get close to him just so that I could lift you onto his back."

"Then you have my thanks, Aratoamin. I should have a few sugar-cubes in my satchel." Untying the satchel from his belt he loosened the draw-string and offered two sugar-cubes to his horse who nibbled greedily from his hand, "Easy, mellon nin, savour them if you want them to last the entire trip." Chuckled Thranduil, the horse snorted obviously not happy with that proposition.

Celebrial watched them in silence not really sure what to make of their camaraderie, only that they would die for each other. Staring back into the fire she began her usual brooding, it was all one could do in the middle of no where with no one to talk to. She was not even sure how to associate with her newest companion, "You must sleep."

"Why? I have been asleep for just over a day and I don't take orders from you."

"You think I care. You need your rest in order to get well again. Do not get me wrong, I care nothing for your health, I only want you better is so that you can get out of my hair and leave me in peace."

"If you're so desperate to get rid of me then why not just up and leave." Normally he was very polite and easy-tempered but this woman was beginning to work on his nerves.

"Because this is my turf and you are in my territory." She said through clenched teeth.

"Well then, I'll leave you to what ever twisted devices you have and be on my way!" He slowly got up with the assistance from his faithful horse.

Celebrial was looking up at him, "Ha!! You would not last a day out there on your own without me not to mention the fact that you are injured and weak!"

"I'll have Barasath with me; he is swift and will bare me in all speed."

Celebrial let out a unelflike snort, "A whole lot of good that did you in the first place. Besides he will not be able to stop every weapon from striking you. You will die before you are even halfway to your destination and even if you do make it the humans will not help an elf out - they are too suspicious and would rather leave you to die."

"And here I thought you did not care." Thranduil's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Look, Erynion, despite what you make think, I will not have you die if I can help it, I would rather not live the rest of my life with your blood on my hands. So you either do as I say and get some rest or you just do not get well as soon as you would like. Personally I would hate to walk around with stitches longer than I have to."

Thranduil saw the reasoning behind her words and finally conceded even if it did hurt his pride quite a bit. He spread his cloak on the ground on the other side of the fire. He painfully laid down on it, "Tenna' tul're san'." All he got was a grunt in response.

Barasath, ever the faithful stead, went to lie down next to him offering him warmth. Thranduil wanted to turn and curl up into the horse but his wounds hindered him so he was forced to lie on his back. Due to his injuries and sheer exhaustion Thranduil fell asleep with his eyes closed.

Celebrial stared into the fire allowing the day's events to run through her mind. She did not know what to make of the elf. Sure he was handsome and had the cutest dimples on his cheeks every time he smiled but felt uncomfortable with him; probably because of her lack of association with others. Sighing, she stared at him through the flames; she could not understand why she could not get along with him. Would they even be able to make it through without killing each other at the bitter end? "I doubt it." She laughed ever so softly and carried on with her silent vigilance.

Җ

The sounds of nearby birds and the smell of food cooking brought him out of his deep slumber and into the world of wakefulness, "Mmmm, something smells delicious." Barasath whickered softly next to him. All Thranduil got was a glare from the other side of the fire that was now cooking breakfast, "Oio naa elealla alasse'" He said wryly and earned himself an even more piercing glare from her.

"Amin feuya ten' lle." Came the sharp retort.

"Ah, ever the charming one you are."

"Auta miqula orqu."

He did not know why, but Thranduil had the sudden urge to laugh at that.

Celebrial only ignored him and said, "I'm going to collect more firewood then I'm going to have the _pleasure _of checking and redressing your wounds, try not to miss me too much." In all seriousness she turned and walked away.

Thranduil began his speculating,_ 'So much for my attempt at being polite, has she always been like this?'_ For the first time he got a clear view of her physique as well the garb she wore. The clothes were not much to speak of: her attire was made from leather, the top half came just over breasts allowing her stomach to show quite a bit. Her pants were made of the same leather that went down all the way to her ankles. He saw how short she was, shorter than him and perhaps even shorter than his mother. Her stomach was well-toned with muscles showing through. Her arms were slender but Thranduil could see that they were also well-toned and probably carried a lot of strength in them. And like him she too had a slight tan.

After watching her go about her business he decided to wash his face in the nearby river, the least he could do was try to look presentable if nothing else. He wasn't sure why, though, it wasn't like she was going to even notice that his face was cleaner than the day before. He went to wash his face anyway and rinse his mouth out.

After inspecting the slight wound on his horse he went to the fire to watch the food, the last thing he wanted was to make Celebrial even grumpier by allowing breakfast to burn.

At that moment Celebrial returned with arms filled with wood. She casually dumped them into the fire. Thranduil had to move out the way of the flying sparks while muttering to himself.

"Antolle ulua sulrim. We'll eat first and then I'll have a look at your wounds."

Thranduil stifled a groan, the last thing he wanted was to be prodded and poked especially by a woman who made Sauron look like a kitten. He took his time in eating the leftovers from the night before, he really wasn't looking forward to the morning's session, and he would rather sit in boring, stuffy council all day.

"I am done, let us get this over with." The elleth's voice cut through his musings.

"I am not; I still have all this to eat." He raised his half-eaten coney and showed her how much meat there was still on it. Celebrial only looked at it in disdain then grabbed it out of his hand and flung it into the flames, "I hadn't finished that and you just wasted a good piece of meat."

"Does it look like I care? As long as you are under my care you will abide by rules and not take your time in eating. There is too much to do in a day to waste it on stuffing your face!"

"For one thing, I was not stuffing my face; I was enjoying the most important meal of the day and savouring the taste. Another thing, since when are you in charge any way?"

"In the wild you cannot afford the comfort of taking your time in eating so if you are not finished when I am then I'm throwing your food in the fire. I am in charge because you know nothing about survival and like I said before you would not last a day on your own."

Thranduil gave her a sour look; he was definitely not appreciating her attitude and normally it was a crime to speak to him thusly. He never felt more strongly about pulling rank than he did at that moment. How dare she speak to him with that manner and get away with it? Thranduil took a deep breath and counted to ten; just a few more days and they never have to see each other again.

"Do not just sit there; take off your vest and undershirt and lie down!"

Was just him or was the morning growing darker with their dark moods? Angrily he took his shirt and vest off and laid down in a huff on his cloak, "How long is this going to take?"

"That does not concern you. I will take as long as I feel necessary. By the way, this is the last morning you sleep in late, from tomorrow on you will be up before anor is."

She began peeling off his bandages, "Both wounds look better than the day before. No signs of infection." She did more prodding, "You don't seem to be in considerable pain and your stitches are still intact." Once she was satisfied she replaced the bandages, "There, that should hold till I have a look at your wounds tonight again."

Thranduil nodded; he honestly didn't know how to respond to her mood swings, one moment she was letting off steam the next she was all business, "What is on the agenda for the day?"

"We start by heading towards Laketown and do not stop till nightfall, these fields are infested with orcs and goblins from the Misty Mountains; I will not take my chances."

"You are coming with me, then?"

"All the way there, you might be able to make it back on your own if you don't have another run in with the orcs and goblins."

"I am flattered."

"Do not be, I am only going to make sure you do not get yourself killed. As I said before I do not care to have your blood on my hands. Despite what you think I am no orc"

"Fair enough, shall we break camp?"

"I thought you would never ask." Her response was filled with sarcasm. Getting up from her crouched position she went over and doused the fire, "Leave as little traces of camp as you can, goblins might try and follow us, losing their kind in battle does not sit well with them - especially a group that size."

Thranduil rose up from the ground and winced when his wounds protested. His shoulder and side were obviously still stiff which was to be expected. It would be a while yet before he could move with grace. He had a hard time bending to collect his things off the ground.

Celebrial noticed his pain and felt a touch of sympathy for him, "Go see to your horse, I'll do the cleaning up." To hide her charitable gesture she added, "I do not trust you to do a proper job, I would rather make sure the job is done thoroughly and that there would be no way to for them to trace us."

Thranduil smiled to himself. She obviously cared more than she would let on, but why would she hide that behind gruffness? Was she too afraid to care? That could be it – the reason why she never showed affection was because she was too afraid that if she did she would become too attached and he doubted that she could stand to lose another person she cared for. He shook his head in pity. No one deserved to live the way she did – too afraid to feel again. It was much easier to face the world with toughness. But then again they only knew each other for a day, who knew; maybe she was always sharp around the edges.

"Everything looks in place here. Let us get going." Celebrial spoke softly from behind him.

They followed the river upward certain that it would lead them to the town of men. They continued on in silence until the sun set below the horizon.

Җ

"We make camp here; it is too dark to go much further." Celebrial procured a flint and tinderbox and set about making a camp-fire, "We shall continue before dawn."

Thranduil relieved his horse of the small baggage that he brought. All it contained were spare clothes; lembas, dried meat and fruit and a decanter of water one that he intended to fill up with fresh water from the river.

Once the fire got going the two sat around it, "I hope you intend to share some of your food. It is too dangerous to go out hunting."

Thranduil looked at her with every intention of giving a sharp retort but thought against it. It will only cause them to bicker again and he had enough for one day. He got up and went scratching through his bag. Once he got two wafers of elven bread and some dried meat he took his previous place and handed Celebrial her share, "You know, you have not really told me anything of yourself only that your home and family were destroyed by the goblins. Tell me about your life before then."

"I will tell you only what I intend to and I do not intend to tell you about my past. You have your secrets and I have mine." She said bitterly.

'_She is one tough nut to crack but I will not give up until she opens up. Keeping things bottled up cannot be good for anyone.'_ "Surely there is something you can tell me of yourself."

"Listen to me carefully; I have nothing to share with you. Everything you know about me is all you need to know – nothing more. If I wanted to give you my life-stories I would have done it sooner!"

"What are you so afraid of?"

In a flash she was on her feet and in Thranduil's face, "Why do you keep pushing me into telling you things that are none of your business?! Get it through your thick skull that I will not speak to you of my past and whatever else you want to know!! I am entitled to my secrets just as much as you are!!" With that she stormed off into the darkness.

"Celebrial!! Celebrial, come back!! It is too dangerous out there!! Celebrial, look I am –." It was too late; she had already disappeared into the gaping darkness, "Sorry." Thranduil was mentally berating himself. He was thoughtless in pushing her. But who knew she had such close boundaries? He thought it best that he got up and start searching for her before she ran into any trouble, "Come, Barasath, let us try and repair the damage I caused." He sighed and walked off into the night in search of one hot-tempered elleth.

Җ

Translations:

Barasath: Fiery Shadow

Edain: Elvish term for men

Elleth, ellyth: Elven woman, elven women

Gwador: A brother not of blood

Noro lim: Ride on

Rima ten'ta: Run for it

Nurta: Hide

Asca: Hurry

Gurth gothrim lye: Death to our foes

Feuyaer: Disgusting one

Tula, hama neva i'aur: Come, sit near the fire

Erynion: Of the woods

Naracion: Stern; harsh

Mankoi lle irma sint: Why do you want to know

Lle maa quel: You did well

diole lle: Thank you

Mani naa essa en lle: What's your name

Manke naa lle tuulo: Where are you from

Amin hiraetha: I'm sorry

Aiya: Oh

Malia ten' vasa: Care for some food

Amin uuma merna ta: I don't want it

Aratoamin: My champion

Mellon nin: My friend

Tenna' tul're san': Until tomorrow then

Oio naa elealla alasse': Ever is thy sight a joy

Amin feuya ten' lle: You disgust me

Auta miqula orqu: Go kiss an orc

Antolle ulua sulrim: Much wind pours from your mouth

Ride free, citizens.


	2. Chapter 2

Treacherous Paths

**Treacherous Paths**

A/N: Chapter 2 up. I apologize for that one line in the beginning of the previous chapter on top of the page. I tried getting rid of it but couldn't. I don't know why it came out like that I can only hope that it won't keep on doing it. If anyone can tell me how to fix it please share.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tolkien's places or characters, they're all his. The only characters I do own are Theliel and Celebrial so far.

**Chapter 2**

Thranduil was still out searching desperately for his newest companion, "CELEBRIAL!!" He stopped to listen for a response. Nothing, just silence greeted his ears, "CELEBRIAL!! Where are you?! It is not safe out here!!" Scanning around as far as his eyes could see he still failed to detect any signs of her, "Celebrial, I know you are out here some where and I know that you can hear me! Please, I am sorry; I should never have pushed you! If you do not want to talk about your past that is fine, just come back to the fire where it is safer!" _'She was not jesting when she said she could avoid anybody if she wanted to.'_

Sharp eyes were watching his every move. Celebrial had to steady her breathing every time Thranduil came too close to her hiding spot, _'Why can he not just leave me in peace? I just want to be left alone. Can he not see that?' _Her more thoughtful conscience made its presence known, _'Because he is concerned about you and he is right, you know, this place is not safe. You should return to camp.'_ Celebrial growled mentally; she hated when her one half contradicted her other half. She waited till his back was turned; stood up carefully and silently made her way towards him, "You promise you will not ask any more questions about my history?"

Thranduil visibly jumped even though the voice was soft. Spinning around he looked her in the eyes. He was saddened by the grief he saw in them but surprisingly there were absolutely no signs that she had been crying, _'Does she ever cry?'_ Then aloud, "I promise; it will never happen again. I am just glad to see that you are still safe."

"Like I said, I know how to take care of myself out here. You on the other hand make enough noise to wake the dead. With all that shouting you did I would not be surprised if the orcs heard you and will come to scout for us; we better move far from this place."

At first Thranduil thought she was joking about the orcs finding them till she mentioned leaving, "Leave? Surely we are still safe here."

"Well, because of your witlessness we have no choice. Tula, we best get a move on."

Thranduil, for what seemed the hundredth time, became indignant, "Witlessness? I was out looking for _you_ in concern for _you._"

"Sure and woke the dead up while you were at it. And if you had not been so tactless this would not have happened in the first place!"

"I said I was sorry! It will not happen again!"

"Good! Now let us make haste before we are spotted. I do not know about you but I do not feel like another skirmish right now; maybe some other time."

Thranduil was shocked at that final statement. The woman was certainly different as well as curious. Never had he met someone like her before, "Maybe some other time? You mean you enjoy miniature battles like that?"

Celebrial smirked dryly, "Aye, the occasional skirmishes help keep me on my toes and you could think of it as lessons in speed, agility and reflexes. Also the more orcs and goblins I get rid of the better; we could do without them. Not to mention the fact that it keeps me in shape." She gave a slightly wider smile at that.

Amazing, this particular elleth was full of surprises. And was that a bit of humour he detected?

By this time they had reached their small camp. Celebrial was once again the one who cleaned up and put the fire out. Setting out Celebrial commented, "Looks like we will not be getting much rest tonight if any at all." This time she made sure they had a torch just to be on the safe side.

"I am sorry; this is mostly my fault." Thranduil felt remorse creep into his conscience once again.

"Stop apologizing, it is getting on my nerves." Celebrial replied tartly.

"But all this is my fault. What else can I do but say I am sorry?"

"Like before, I will not have you grovelling at my feet this time seeking mercy and redemption, it would be an unflattering sight and the damage is already done – nothing for it now but to just move on."

Thranduil remained silent this time. Every now and then he would check on his horse, Barasath. His wound might have been shallow but he could see that his horse was still in a bit of pain, "Come, my friend, it will not be much longer before we find another location then you can get the bit of rest that you deserve." He kissed his horse on the nose hoping it would soothe his pain if only for a bit.

Celebrial was not paying any attention; she just kept her eyes on the hidden path in front of her. She had to make sure all her senses were at their sharpest. She glanced at Thranduil and glanced back onto their path, _'It is not entirely his fault. I should have known better than to run off at the darkest time of night. Should I tell him?' _She shook her head, '_No, he will think I am going soft or worse – warming up to him.'_ Her reasonable conscience objected, _'It is only fair that I tell him that he is not entirely to blame and it would not be fair to carry the burden on his own.' _The conscience that she seemed to listen to the most spoke up, _'If you do you will ruin your reputation for life, he will never take you seriously again.'_ Celebrial mentally shook her thoughts away, she had to pay attention to her surroundings or they might get caught off guard.

"You are very quiet tonight." Thranduil said quietly.

"I have to concentrate on everything around us – cannot do that while jabbering away."

"I am sure that a word or two would not harm."

"Careful, you might eat those words. No, I have to be at my utmost attentiveness otherwise it may cost us. I very seldom travel this time of night – it normally is the most dangerous and the moon is not full which gives us even more reason to be cautious."

Thranduil merely nodded. For someone who did not want to speak a lot she said quite a mouthful in her short monologue. Perhaps it would be a good idea if he assisted her in keeping an eye out for trouble.

It soon became very silent except for the occasional hooting of an owl in the far distance. Neither of them liked it; it was much too quiet. The tiny hairs on the back of their necks stood on end. A chill ran down their spines that had nothing to do with winter's chill, "Erynion, I do not like this. We are being watched; I can feel it." Celebrial's frantic whisper formed tiny wisps of cloud caused by the cold. It was obvious that winter was on its way. Celebrial spun in every direction; the flame from her torch flickered with every movement.

"I feel it too." He whispered back. Without making any sudden movements he reached for an arrow from the quiver that was strapped to his back then he slowly went for his bow that was also held on his back by the quiver. Suddenly, he saw an arrow speeding towards him. This time he had at least seen it coming and knocked it off course with his bow. Thranduil cursed, he had hoped that his movements would go unnoticed. There was at least one upside and that was the fact that he could tell from which direction the arrow came from. There. He had spotted about five of them crouching behind a few bushels and the long grass. He swiftly set an arrow to his bow and began firing rapidly.

By the time Celebrial was ready to join him they were all dead, "The least you could have done was leave me with some." She grumbled to him; not about to let him know how relieved she was that it was only a small group as far as she could see.

Thranduil only shrugged; giving her the most innocent smile he could muster, a smile that could melt any woman's heart. Even Celebrial could feel a miniscule piece of her hardened heart melting but it was not enough – far from it. It would be a very long time before she'd feel again. She went over to the corpses and found that they were the goblins from the mountains. They must have either heard them or were on there way back to their dark caves and just happened to run into them on the way, "Hmm, looks like I do not have to go out searching for firewood; we have all the fuel we need for a nice camp fire." She seemed to smile wickedly and the glow of the moonlight made it look even more sinister.

"Are you really considering burning them?" Thranduil was once again shocked by her strange behaviour not to mention a little frightened of her.

Her teeth glinted through the darkness, "Of course." She seemed happy with the prospect, "I cannot just leave these bodies out here." She beheaded the largest goblin there, "I do not like leaving them here to taint these lands and the goblins will find these bodies and become even more determined to find us." She hoisted the one she had decapitated onto her shoulder, "Come help me carry these over to the rocks over there." She pointed with her free hand.

Thranduil hesitated till he was met with a sharp look from her, "Very well but will the fire not attract other orcs and goblins?"

"Goes to show how much you know about these foul creatures. They are afraid of light in any form. They would not dare come near a fire of the size that it is going to be." Dropping her unsavoury burden onto the hard ground she continued, "Besides dawn is approaching. By the time it is dark enough to go out of their holes we would be long gone...hopefully." She immediately went back to fetch another corpse – trying her best to ignore the blood that covered almost her entire side and was still dripping. She would scrub herself once she knew they were safe for a while.

This went on till all the bodies were piled up and Thranduil set fire to them. Almost immediately the rancid smell of burning bodies assaulted his nose and his eyes started watering, he almost gagged with the force of the stench.

Celebrial was unaffected by the smell, she had probably done this quite a few times. Sitting near the bonfire she began whittling at a fairly long and rounded piece of wood sharpening the tip.

Thranduil was watching her intently and wondering what exactly it was that she was carving but was too afraid to ask. After five minutes of watching he figured out that it was a rough-looking spear. He carried on watching her get up off the ground and strike the spear into the ground near the flames. As she continued hammering it into the ground Thranduil was becoming more and more curious.

Celebrial picked up the discarded head and roughly placed it onto the butt of the spear. She dusted her hands off while admiring her handy work, "There, that should do the trick, do you not think?"

Thranduil just stared for a full minute – unable to speak. Finally he managed to find his voice, "It is...uh" Thranduil was struggling to find the right words. Still unable to come up with something to say he opted to make an enquiry instead, "If I, uh, may be so bold as to ask – what is it?"

"It is a warning to every other dark creature to be wary and afraid when they see it or they will suffer the same fate. Do you like it?"

Thranduil raised a well-sculpted eyebrow, "Do I...like it...? It is a goblin head on a stick."

"I know, is it not great?"

Thranduil once again found himself to be speechless as stared at his horse who stared back seeming to be sceptic. The elleth took no joy in what was supposed to be joyful but instead found glee in burning goblin and orcs and displaying heads on spears. What was the world coming to?

Җ

"The dawn is fast approaching. There is not much time to waste. As soon as I had a look at your wounds we start marching."

Thranduil, who had opted to just wearing a plane shirt, took it off and lied down on his back, "The, er, orcs and goblins that we killed when we first met, did you burn those bodies as well?"

"Of course I did! You slept right through it all, which was a pity because that was one magnificent bonfire."

Thranduil shook his head; he was glad he missed the whole thing. If a fire that small caused such an odour he could not imagine the smell of the much larger fire. It made him shudder just thinking about it. Although he would probably have only a second to suffer before he passed out. He winced when Celebrial began her inspection. For a petite elleth she was pretty rough especially when it came to poking at his wounds.

Celebrial used the opportunity to have a good look at his chest and stomach, _'He sure is well built. Nice and strong and...'_ She quickly shook her head, _'Stop it!! He is not that well built, I have seen better...much better...much, much better.'_ Who was she kidding? She never got close enough to anyone to make comparisons; besides she was not there to admire him she was there to make sure his wounds were healing properly, "Another three days or so and the stitches should be ready to come out." She was a little surprised at the gruffness of her voice, "Get up! It is time we got moving again!"

Thranduil was now bewildered at her sudden harshness so he could not help asking, "Celebrial, did I do something wrong?"

"No not a thing! Here, swallow these herbs to numb the pain. I know you are suffering from shooting those arrows last night!"

Thranduil snatched the herbs from her hands. He did not like the way her mood kept changing from dark to darker. He quickly chewed them and swallowed grimacing at the bitter taste. He set about packing his things and tying them to his horse. Before long they were on the road again.

Җ

Thranduil put his hood on and wrapped his cloak tighter around him; not from the cold but to stop the wind from blowing his hair into his face. Barasath looked just about as happy as he did about the weather.

Neither the wind nor the weather seemed to faze Celebrial, she just kept going as though it was a sunny day, "Step lively, it is a long time before nightfall and I intend to see the town in the distance by then!" Celebrial kept her brisk pace – never once slowing. Looking up she checked the position of the sun, not quite noon yet, "How are we doing for food?"

Thranduil checked his sack while walking, "There is still enough left till we arrive. It is a good thing I decided to pack a little extra even though I did not know I would be sharing the rations."

"And here I thought it was merely because you like to eat a lot."

"I eat about the same as most elves, maybe even less."

"So you are saying you were born that size?"

Thranduil did not know whether to be offended or take it as a jest, "What do you mean?"

"You are larger than most of the elves I have seen and shorter too."

"This is most certainly not fat if that is what you mean. I do a lot of hard labour; as a result I just have slightly larger muscles."

"So you say."

Thranduil could not help asking, "Are you saying I am fat?"

"No, but you must admit that you are more muscle-bound than the elves I ever came across."

"As I said, hard-labour."

"What? Did you have to build your home or something?"

"Something like that. There is still work to be done, though."

"I see. Should you not be at home to assist, then?"

"No, they can go without me for a few days."

"I think this going to take more than just a _few _days."

"Still, my aid will not be missed."

"Are you certain of that?"

"Very. Besides I needed to get away for a few days."

"Life is too tough for you back there?"

"Aye, more than you know."

Celebrial snorted at that, "If you ask me, I think you have it pretty easy."

Thranduil got slightly defensive, "How would you know?!"

"It must be pretty tough then; having a roof over your head, a family who cares for you, bountiful food that you never have to hunt for every day, a soft bed to keep you comfortable and warm – ."

Thranduil stopped her midway, "Yes, yes, I get it. Maybe you have it a little harder than I do, but have you met my father?"

"No but at least you still have family. I do not."

"You do not know him like I do; he is always pressuring me, he wants me to be more like him, he never listens, he is so **stubborn**. Sometimes...sometimes I wish I had a different father."

"Sounds like you are describing yourself. You know what your problem is? You are too pampered. You look at the things that I would kill for as negativity. Have you ever truly considered what life would be like without your father?"

"Sometimes, it is tough, though. I have always had respect for him but he has never appreciated anything I ever did for him, he never approved of me no matter what. You know what the hardest part is?"

Celebrial shook her head silently.

"The hardest is that I still love him so very much. All I ever wanted was to make proud of me. Just once I wanted him to say 'Ion, I love you and I am proud of you.' Why is it so hard for him to say those three little words 'I love you?' "

"I do not know. But one thing I do know for sure is that you should appreciate every second with him. And even if he does not seem to love you, carry on loving him and who knows, he might surprise you."

Thranduil thought about that for awhile then said, "You are probably right. I should not speak of my father thusly even if he is not around."

Celebrial nodded, "You are blessed to have a family still. Just appreciate them."

"For someone who lives in isolation you sure know how to give advice."

"Do not think that you will be coming to me for advice all the time, because if you do I will send you back empty handed, understood?"

Thranduil smiled a little, "Aye, understood."

"Anor is riding high. We are not making good time. We need to move at a quicker pace." Celebrial quickened her pace by sprinting full out.

Thranduil quickly picked up his own pace. Barasath chose that moment to play around by galloping with his master's baggage and everything still on his back, "BARASATH!! GET BACK HERE, AT ONCE!!" The horse simply ignored him and carried on dashing away, "I had to get the swiftest horse in Greenwood, did I not?" Thranduil grumbled to himself. Taking a deep breath he ran as fast as he could to try and catch up with his wayward beast.

The horse slackened his pace ever so slightly to allow Thranduil to catch up with him. Once they were flanking each other, Barasath began prancing about and jumping in every direction. Thranduil nailed it on the head when he figured his horse was in high spirits. But then again he might have somehow stolen the rest of the sugar-cubes. Come to think of it, his satchel did feel considerably lighter. _'If you cannot beat them, join them.'_ Sighing to himself he joined his horse in fooling around and having an all-round good time. Thranduil felt so alive in that moment, laughing in chorus with the horse's neighs.

Celebrial could not stand to watch the spectacle ahead of her. She could not suppress the jealousy that was building up inside of her, _'Jealous? Why would I be jealous of them being able to fool around and have fun?' 'Because I do not know how to have a good time – the last time I played games like those was just before I had my whole life ripped away from me.'_ Celebrial wanted to cry so badly but she was too numb, she could not cry, then again, she did not want to cry, ever. She did enough of that when she was twelve. She was not twelve any more; she was a grown woman, "ENOUGH!!"

Immediately the duo stopped their games and faced her with shock written on their faces, "What is it, Celebrial?" Thranduil asked softly.

She spoke with an icy tone that made Caradharas look like paradise, "Seize your foolishness!! We have no time for your silly games!!"

"We were only having a little fun, Celebrial. There is no reason to get up tight and I am sure we made up for the lost time."

"There will be no 'We were only having a little fun.' You may not find our situation serious, but I do!"

Barasath snorted and was ready to give her a piece of his mind when he felt the soft, gentle touch of Thranduil's hand on his back, "Ease up, boy. It will do you no good, anyway." With every ounce of calmness he could muster he addressed her, "As far as I recall, it was you who opted to come with us, we did not invite you. I do not know what you wish to prove but this is my mission not yours; in fact, I am in no real hurry to get there. I actually wished to take my time, savouring these moments of freedom, taking in the beauty around us. Do not get me wrong, you are more than welcome in joining us but you need to allow us to be ourselves once in awhile, otherwise you will make us feel as though we were in a dungeon or something."

"Dungeon, you say?" Her sudden calmness did not sit well with Thranduil or the horse, "I have had it with you ungrateful snobs!!" With another bout of temper she stomped away.

Thranduil turned to Barasath, "This time it was not my fault." He carried on watching her. He was really growing tired of her childish behaviours, "Celebrial, why are you always trying to pick a fight with me!!"

She spoke without turning or stopping, "Because you are rude, thoughtless and arrogant!!"

"Are you sure it is not yourself that you are describing!!"

Celebrial turned and was in his face a split second later with clenched teeth, "Why, you impetuous **orc**!! Who in Morgoth do you think you are!!"

"Someone who tells it like it is!! You are bitter and angry all the time because you forgot what it is like to feel again!! You have suppressed your true feelings for so long that you cannot feel anything at all, except for anger and hatred!! I have seen the joy you got out of making an example of those goblins and I have seen your malice towards them!! Yes, we all want to be rid of orcs, goblins and anything else that is pure evil, but if you thirst for their blood you are no better than they are!!" Thranduil's chest was now heaving up and down with the breaths he was taking in rapid succession.

Celebrial just stood stunned at his outburst and even her mouth was agape. Realizing that her mouth was standing slightly open she quickly shut it with a snap, "You just compared me to an orc."

"You just called me one not a second ago. What is good for the goose is good for the gander, besides you know I am telling the truth. Everything I have said is the truth and you know it."

Celebrial was now baring her teeth at him, this time so close to his face that he could feel her breath, "You know nothing of what you speak!?" She turned on her hills and was once again striding away and this time she was showing no signs of returning.

Thranduil could feel a headache coming on. Now, not only was he tired of her childish behaviours – he was sick of them too, "Shall we go after her or should we just leave her to sulk. She is pretty good at that." Barasath nodded vigorously, he was in no mood to go after her either.

Soon they were following her but at a more sedate pace. At least she was not going towards the direction they just came from; instead she was heading towards their goal.

It was late afternoon when they spotted Laketown in the distant horizon. Thranduil's heart lifted at the sight before him. Yes, it seemed they were going to make it after all.

Җ

Translation:

Tula: Come

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Treacherous Paths

**Treacherous Paths**

A/N: Chapter three up. Thanks for all the lovely reviews so far :D.

Disclaimer: The only characters I own are Celebrial, Theliel, Barasath and Stan Abston so far. Should you wish to borrow any of these characters please ask for permission first.

**Chapter 3**

Thranduil looked at the town in the far distance with relief. Soon he would arrive and never have to travel with the temperamental female that was still marching ahead of him, ever again. He took his time in following at a safe distance. Soon, though, the sun will be setting and they would have to make camp again. _'That should prove interesting; considering the fact that she is not exactly very pleased with me, neither am I of her.'_ This was going to be a long day

Celebrial was still fuming. How could he have spoken to her thusly? He did not even bother apologizing, _'It is I who should do the apologizing. You got angry because he struck a nerve that was hidden for many years.'_ Celebrial felt like screaming at the voice in her head, telling it to be silent. In an attempt to take her mind off Thranduil and the fight they had; she looked up to see how much farther they had to go. Yes, there they were. Tiny pinpricks of lights and tiny wooden buildings. She so badly wanted to turn and tell Thranduil that they were almost there when she remembered the words they had. The tiny spark that were in her eyes disappeared and she returned to her foul mood.

One by one, the stars began forming, making dusk look as magnificent as it always did. It was during this time of day that Thranduil thought about life and everything he had gone through. Sometimes he would sit outside, in the royal gardens, either deep in thought or conversing with his mother about anything and everything.

For Celebrial, it was an entirely different for her. It was at dawn that she felt the most melancholic. For some reason, it was at this time of day when she felt the loneliest. Now, she finally had someone to talk to but she kept pushing him away.

The golden-haired prince noticed that Celebrial's shoulders drooped considerably. He did not know whether to go and try and comfort her or just leave her in her misery – she did bring it on herself, after all. No, he was better than that; he tried not to be mean and be as compassionate to anyone and everyone as possible; except for the creatures of darkness. He took a deep breath and slowly approached her.

Celebrial felt a tender, yet strong, hand on her shoulder and stiffened. She turned her gaze on him and stared deeply into his beautiful and hypnotic eyes. There were no signs of wrath, anger or resentment; instead she found tenderness and kindness, "Why do you put your hand on my shoulder?"

Thranduil stared at her intently, "Because, you bare a great burden; a burden that should not be borne on your shoulders. You may think you are strong, but you are not that strong."

The elleth trengthened the walls around her heart, "Why do you care so much? Can you not see that my business is my business and not yours?"

Thranduil shook his head, "Why are you so angry all the time?"

"I have every reason to be."

"Do you really want to be angry?"

"It is what keeps me going. It is what stops me from losing myself in my grief and from fading." Her voice dripped with both sadness and bitterness.

"Have you ever thought of confiding in anyone, unburdening yourself? Opening up to someone?"

Her eyes became fierce, "Why would I!? Why should I!!"

"Because, you keeping it all bottled up is not healthy."

"Since when do you know anything about what is healthy and what is not!?"

"There you go again! Becoming offended at everything I say!! Have you ever considered that I might want to help you!!"

"Help me, with what!! Are you suggesting that there is something wrong with me!! She was nearly screeching towards the end of her words.

Thranduil took a deep breath; which seemed to be a new habit as of late and worked on a calmer approach, "Fine, fine, we will not speak of this, for now. Since, we are almost on speaking terms can we do this together again?"

Celebrial thought for a moment, "You know, we are going to be at each other's throat all the time."

Thranduil's mouth set itself into a grim line, the corners of his mouth formed tiny dimples, "It does not have to be that way."

"We obviously find it hard to get along, you grate on my nerves, and clearly, I grate on yours."

Thranduil was just about to say something when he thought it was better that he did not speak the words aloud, instead he went for a different tact, "What say we do not say anything to each other for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we will see how it goes. We will take each day one at a time."

Celebrial agreed to the plan, knowing that it should not be too difficult.

The prince decided that it was his turn to prepare a camp-fire. He could feel that his wounds were beginning to heal, which he was very glad for. The only problem was that his stitches were beginning to itch, which put him in a bad mood, so maybe it was a good thing that they did not say a word to each other. He sat against a nearby tree with Barasath standing over him. Thranduil looked up at the stars. He loved the stars dearly, staring at them always made him feel closer to his Creator. While gazing at them, he had the sudden urge to sing about them.

Celebrial turned in surprise and stared at Thranduil. Never had she heard such a beautiful voice in her entire life. He had a slight tenor voice but not terribly powerful like some of the more operatic voices that she remembered hearing from her childhood. No, his was soft, gentle and it seemed to carry her to places she could only dream of. The creature she saw before her was none like she had seen before. It was like she was looking at Thranduil in an entirely different light, literally. The soft glow of the stars and the moon caused his already natural glow to glow even brighter and the shadows on his face made him look like a creature that was not of that world.

Thranduil's eyes closed while losing himself in the song he was singing. He felt Celebrial's eyes on him but he did not let that distract him. He did not even open his eyes when Barasath lowered himself onto the ground.

As though the stars could hear the song, they were shining even brighter and twinkling with joy.

The final chords of the song seemed tocarry into the night before everything became silent once more and all that was heard was the steady breathing of the horse. The silver-haired elleth felt both comforted and saddened by the song. She was not sure if it was the lyrics or the sad melody that caused her to feel that way. A sudden smell assaulted her senses. She sniffed around trying to locate the source of the smell. She sniffed closer to herself and almost gasped and the strong stench. Glancing over herself she spotted the orcish blood that still covered the one side of her. She quickly made the decision to bathe in the river. Elves could withstand most weathers so it was no problem for her to dive into the river even if winter was approaching and she, like other elves, did not run the risk of getting sick like mortals did.

Thranduil heard a sudden splash and saw that Celebrial was neck-deep in the river. Out of respect for her modesty, he went over to the fire, making sure his back was turned to her. It was then that he also remembered that he was covered in blood and that he also needed to somehow scrub it off him. He would, of course, wait till she was done.

Thranduil's actions did not go unnoticed. Celebrial smiled inwardly, if nothing else, he was a true gentleman. Shaking her head, she dipped her clothes into the water, hoping to remove the blood from them as well. It was while she was scrubbing them that she just remembered that her only clothes were now soaked.

His ears perked at the mutterings coming from behind him so Thranduil slowly turned hoping not to see anything he should not. He almost turned away again, blushing furiously but saw that she was still in the water holding her clothes up in frustration. At first, Thranduil thought she was having trouble getting the stains out until he saw that she was searching around frantically – almost in panic, _'Ah, she has no other clothes.' _He thought a bit till he found a plan. Digging through his own sack, he found a spare pair of dark green breeches and a lighter green tunic that was covered in silver vine-like patterns. He scratched around some more until he found a slightly off white undershirt. The said elf went to the water's edge and placed his bundle of clothes down near the edge of the river but he was careful in not placing them in the mud. He did all of this while keeping his eyes on the ground the entire time.

The elleth stared at the ellen's back, _'Why is he being so kind to me, I do not deserve it?' _It had been years since anyone had done something like that for her. Checking to make sure he was not watching, even though she doubted he was, quickly stepped out of the water and began dressing – not caring that she was still dripping wet. Celebrial went over to the fire to dry herself off. She made sure she gave Thranduil the same privacy he did when he went to go scrub the blood off. She waited till he was near the fire to hold up the usual herbs and cleaning equipment.

Thranduil Oropherion immediately knew what he had to do and proceeded in taking off his long-sleeved tunic and lying down on his cloak.

The hated procedure was soon over and they both settled down for the night. The song still played in their heads – helping them drift away as though it were a lullaby.

Җ

Before the sun arose, Thranduil was already up and preparing for their next journey. He was hoping that by the end of the day they would have finally made it to their destination. He looked around on the ground to make sure that he was not leaving anything behind.

Celebrial remained lying down while she watched the handsome elf go about his business. She could still smell his scent on the clothes he had loaned to her – it definitely had the smell of pines and other woodland smells combined with the scent of his own. It reminded her of her past when she would wander through the forest with different, yet pleasant scents drifting through her nose.

She was ever so grateful that she had clothes to wear while her original ones dried, yet, the problem was that the clothes she now wore were far too big; at least she could tighten the belt to stop the breeches from slipping down. While observing the clothes, she noticed something, _'These are very rich looking – far too elegant to be travelling in.'_ She thought about it for awhile before coming to her own conclusion, _'maybe he just comes from a rich family.'_ With that final thought, she stood up and got her own things together.

As they were walking along, Celebrial had the sudden urge to comment upon the singing from the night before, "You, uh, I like the song you sang last night."

Thranduil was not prepared for a statement like that so he just stared at her for awhile while walking at the same time.

"I had no idea you could sing like that." She added, a hint of embarrassment colouring her tone of voice.

"Every elf has the ability to sing, even you."

"Not as well as you can." She could not believe that she had just admitted that. She felt like being swallowed whole by the ground at that moment.

Thranduil blushed ever so slightly at that, "Uh, thank you. I was taught that song while still living in Doriath."

"Do you still miss your old homes?"

"Sometimes," He admitted with a sigh, "But I am adjusting to my new home and getting to know the Sindarin. They are not as rustic as I originally thought, but they are wild and very passionate about life. I look forward to learning more about them.

"I see." Celebrial was feeling slightly light-heartened at almost reaching their goal but not enough to laugh or just have a good time.

Barasath plodded along; he was feeling much better and livelier – it was obvious that his wound was on the mend. Thranduil was also feeling slightly better except for the fact that his stitches were itching more than the night before and it was starting to drive him insane. When he could not take it anymore, he was reaching towards his shoulder when the stern voice of Celebrial stopped him.

"You lay a single nail to that wound and you will find yourself without any hands. Understand?"

"But it is itching and I am going insane because of it." He protested in an almost whiny voice.

"Going? I figured you were already there."

Thranduil knew that she was being sarcastic and did not appreciate it one bit. He had to almost literally bite his tongue to stop himself from saying anything in return – instead he decided to keep his eyes ahead and on their ever nearer destination.

Җ

Night had fallen and the trio found themselves now standing on the docks of Laketown. Thranduil felt his heart hammering inside his chest. At long last, he had made it.

Celebrial was just as ecstatic about their arrival. She could not believe the sights and sounds around her. It was all too different to what she was used to. The elleth was glancing around as though she was an elfling again and was seeing things for the very first time.

After taking it all in, Thranduil made sure that his entire head was securely covered and that nothing would give him away. He tentatively approached the watcher, doing everything he could to indicate that he meant no harm.

The dock-watcher watched him suspiciously, "State your business!" He commanded.

Thranduil deepened his voice, making it sound rougher than usual. He even changed his accent to that of an edain to sound more convincing, "I am on an errand of my own. My companion and I would appreciate it if we were welcomed here without meeting up with hostility."

The watcher continued to stare, "You will need to specify your errand and where you have come from."

Thranduil thought for a moment, then, "I have come from a place not very far away. I intend your town no ill. I am merely seeking a place to stay."

"Are you passing through, then?"

"Yes, yes, you could say that."

The watcher obviously did not know what to believe and whether to let these strangers in or not.

"Please, like I said, we mean you know harm. Our business will not interfere with the citizens of this town. We also seek an inn where we can stay for awhile."

The voice sounded so convincing that the watcher gave in to their requests; "Very well, you will find an inn about ten blocks from here called The Snake's Poison. You cannot miss it – there is a large carving on the door of a snake.

Thranduil did well to hide the shudder that was threatening to creep up his spine; instead, he thanked the watcher for his kind assistance and tossed him a gold coin.

The watcher stared at it greedily and bit into the coin to make sure it was genuine. Once he was satisfied that it was, he allowed the travellers to pass through without further hindrance.

Celebrial started feeling rather uncomfortable since stepping onto one of the docks. From the stories she was told she wanted to be anywhere else but in a town riddled with mortals. She glanced side to side. At least not many people were out at that time of night and so it was bearable for the moment.

Thranduil, on the other hand, was fascinated by everything he saw – from the wooden buildings to the wooden floors. He stared into the water surrounding the small town and wondered exactly how deep it was. But the sight that was most intriguing to him was of the Lonely Mountain standing proud and tall – it was seen from every position of the town. Looking closely, he noticed a glow coming from the mountain, _'I guess the rumours are true. There is indeed a dragon that dwells there.'_ Thranduil prayed that he would never come across a creature like that of Smaug.

Celebrial seemed to be looking in the same direction. She herself heard the whispered rumours and cared not for the idle gossips, but now she too was having doubts. She quickly turned her gaze ahead and realized that they were only a few feet away from the inn that the watcher recommended to them. She noticed Thranduil's shudder this time, she figured it was just from the distasteful picture carved into the wooden door – she herself did not find the picture to her liking.

When they approached the door, stable hands came to put Barasath in the local stable but Thranduil quickly held out his hand in warning, "My horse does not act kindly to others, it is safer if you kept your distance, but I thank you for coming to see to my horse. I will also see to his feeding and bedding, you need not worry." The young man nodded his head vigorously and dashed back from whence he came

Inside the inn was a fire burning merrily inside a small fire-place off to the one side. Tables were scattered all around and raucous shouts could be heard even by the deafest of people. The smell of cooking boar wafted throughout the inn. Immediately, Celebrial's mouth watered at the delectable smell but felt even more uncomfortable in the large crowd of drunken men.

Thranduil was still taking in everything he could and keeping it in his memory, but soon, he too became wary and uncomfortable. He had never seen such unsavoury behaviour from the drunkards before, even at the feasts his father held.

A short, tubby man stood behind the bar. He spoke with a heavy accent and Thranduil had a slightly hard time making out what he was saying, "Hello, there. You must be new in town for I have not seen you around these parts before. The name is Stanley Abston. But you can just call me Stan. Welcome to the best inn in all of Laketown. Now what I can I do you folks for?" He spoke while wiping his hands on his apron.

A loud voice was suddenly heard, somewhere down the bar, over the noisy crowd, "Stan!! Stan!! Where are you, you poor excuse for an innkeeper!!

Stan grumbled to himself then spoke much louder, addressing the voice, "I will be right with you, let me just serve the guests here!"

"We were here first!! We want to be served!!"

Stan ignored his other guest and kept his attention on the two at hand, "My special for today is a scrumptious roast boar, the finest you will ever taste." The innkeeper's chest puffed ever so slightly with pride.

Thranduil highly doubted the prospect and so declined, "I will just have some w...uh...ale – your finest, that is, please." Stan either did not notice the slip of the tongue or chose to ignore it.

Celebrial seemed to be unable to take up the offer quick enough. She like, Thranduil, made her voice deeper and huskier, "I will have a piece of your boar along with some ale, as well."

"Good choice, good choice. Meredith!! Show these guests to their tables." He turned back to the duo, "Before you settle down, is there anything else you require?"

"Yes, please. Two separate bedrooms with comfortable beds. I will make it worth your while." Thranduil took out a sack filled with gleaming coins and Stan's eyes widened at the amount the elf offered him.

"I am sure I can make a plan. At the moment, there is not enough rooms but I can always arrange that a lesser paying customer goes."

"Nay, I will not have another paying guest get thrown out his own room. My companion and I will share a room."

Stan looked a little disappointed at not getting all the gold that was on offer, but at least he had a high-paying customer under his very roof, "One last thing, I never got your names."

Thranduil spoke for the both of them, "My friend here is Violet and I am Brandon."

The two travellers turned and found a woman standing there. They figured that she must have been Meredith. This woman had the physique neither of them expected –she had quite a curvaceous build. Her hair was a dull brown that curled all the way down to her hips, her eyes were the same colour and she had the rosiest cheeks they had ever seen so far. Both of them seemed to have the same thought in mind, _'The edain are the strangest of creatures besides the naugrim.'_

Meredith had a friendly smile plastered on her pretty face, "Please, if the two of you would follow me."

The trio manoeuvred their way around the crowd. Thranduil noticed that there had been drunken attempts of groping the waitress. What he also noticed was that she ignored it as though used to it. As long as there was no real threat he would leave them be.

Thranduil heard a sigh of relief coming from Celebrial once they were seated in a fairly isolated section. They each heard the waitress speak, "Your orders will be on their way."

Both the elves detected a hint of wariness in her voice – something she was trying so hard to conceal.

Once out of earshot Celebrial whispered to Thranduil, "Violet!?"

Thranduil could tell she was definitely not happy about the choice of name he gave her, "It was all I could think of at that moment. Besides, you were named after the colour of your eyes."

"Well, I still do not like it."

"That is too bad because you are sticking to it." Once Meredith approached their table, the whispering seized.

"Here are your orders: two of the finest ale and one plate of boar. Is there anything else you would like?"

Thranduil just shook his head and watched her go. He wanted to make sure that she would not run into any trouble. He did not know much about the edain but he knew what any race was like under the influence of alcohol. He saw a very large man grab a hold of her arm and tried to pull her onto his lap.

"Come here, darling. I know what you want. I know how to pleasure a woman." The drunkard's voice was incredibly slurred.

"Please, sir, let me go – "The drunken man only gripped her arm tighter and forced her into a brutal kiss. All his surrounding friends laughed at the spectacle.

"Excuse me, but I believe the lady just asked you to leave her alone. I suggest you respect her wishes." The large guy felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

His voice became even more slurred as his over-glazed eyes tried to look at the being that addressed him, but could not see through the shadow of his hood, "And I suggest that you mind your own business." With that, he continued to assault the helpless waitress

Thranduil gripped the man's shoulder tighter and hauled him to his feet; allowing the man's chair to clatter to the floor. This seemed to bring the entire inn to silence, "I believe I told you to let the lady be." He spoke softly yet fiercely through clenched teeth.

Without warning the man swung his giant fist but Thranduil managed to dodge the attack. He added his own blows and the man was, in no time, lying on the ground with a bloody nose and mouth, "You will pay for this!!" The man screamed.

Thranduil allowed him to get to his feet and watched amusedly while the man kept falling over.

Stan's voice reached their ears, "What is the meaning of this?!"

The drunken man finally made it to his feet and pointed a wavering finger at Thranduil whilst trying to remain on his feet, "This fool attacked me unprovoked!!"

Thranduil could not believe his pointed-ears, "Provoked!? You assaulted this young lady after she politely tried to ward off your advances! If anyone is in the wrong, it is you!?"

The innkeeper had heard enough, "Get out of my inn!! The lot of you!! I never want to see your faces in here, again!!"

By that time, Celebrial had joined the group and was glaring fiercely at Thranduil. As the group made their way outside, Thranduil tossed his payment to the innkeeper and told him to keep the change.

Outside, the drunkard, who appeared to be the leader of his band of friends, attempted to proceed with the fighting by taking to steps forward when he passed out in the middle of the walkway – his body had enough of the drinking and could not take anymore. The rest of his 'friends' fled and abandoned their leader.

The two heard retching coming from the edge of the walkway but were not too keen in investigating.

For awhile they had been strolling around, "This is your entirefault!" Celebrial was definitely in a dark mood.

"What was I supposed to do!? I could not watch the edain force himself onto the lady any more; he had no right to touch her like that, either!!"

"You cannot go around trying to help everybody!! You have to leave things be, sometimes!!"

"I will not if I can help it!"

"Do you think you are some hero that has to come to everyone's rescue!! Now, thanks to you, we have no where to stay!!"

"Keep your voice down, we are no longer in the wild." Then he continued with the subject they were on, at the moment, "We are elves; we do not need a place to stay. We can wander the pathways all night if we have to."

Celebrial was now feeling very grumpy. The longer she stayed the more she wanted to leave.

Җ

The sky began to lighten and the two elves were still wandering around, exploring the different areas.

The citizens began awakening and were giving the strangers odd stares. They were not sure what to make of them.

"Why do they keep looking at us?" Celebrial whispered, knowing she could not be heard by the onlookers.

"Because we are strange to their eyes, but try to blend in as much as possible. We do not want to raise anymore suspicion than what is necessary."

"Too late, they are already whispering amongst themselves about us."

"Just turn away and ignore them. There is still plenty to see, let us go exploring, some more." They had carried on strolling around till the sun was higher in the sky. It was amazing how different the town looked in the morning's light, "This place is incredible and the people here are fascinating."

Celebrial's mood had grown much darker and she was not in the mood for idle chatter so she only gave Thranduil a grunt that she used often with him.

Thranduil ignored her and breathed in the new scents. He could smell fresh bread baking and different perfumes from the many women around. What he did not expect to hear was a cry for help coming from the water below.

Җ

TBC

Translations:

Naugrim: Elvish term for dwarves.

God bless and ride free, citizens.


	4. Chapter 4

Treacherous Paths

**Treacherous Paths**

A/N: Another chapter up. I hope you are all enjoying it so far.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Tolkien's characters or places even though I wish I did. The characters I do own are Celebrial, Theliel and Barasath.

**Chapter 4:**

Thranduil and Celebrial dashed over towards the edge of the wooden walkway. They saw a boy struggling to keep his head above the water but he was unsuccessful. Thranduil wasted no time in taking his excessive clothes off: his cloak, tunic, boots, and, of course, his weapons.

Celebrial could not believe what Thranduil was about to do, "What are you doing!? Have you lost your brains somewhere along the way!?"

The prince paid no attention to her and dived into the icy-cold water. He swiftly swam to boy, "Hold on, you are going to be fine, just grab hold of my neck and do not let go." The boy did as he was told. Thranduil could not believe the strength the boy used to hold on, but he could not blame him; the poor child was probably still suffering from shock.

Celebrial and the now gathering crowd were watching the pair anxiously, making their way through the water.

Once he made it to the edge, he swiftly, yet gently handed the boy up to one of the out-stretched hands. As soon as the child was relinquished from his arms, he was pulled down by some invisible force.

The crowd watched the surface for any signs of the rescuer. Celebrial's heart was hammering and her breathing sped up. They did not get this far only for him to drown. She heard a voice coming from the front of the crowd.

"Ned, go and see what has become of the man." The man who had spoken must have been the child's father, because he was now holding the boy in his arms covered in a blanket.

The person, who was addressed as Ned, dove in after Thranduil and swam deeper and deeper till he spotted him struggling with his leg. When he swam closer, he saw that Thranduil's leg was entangled by weeds.

Thranduil was losing his battle of staying conscious and his lungs were burning – everything was looking hazy. He vaguely felt someone cutting at the weeds. Afterwards, he knew no more.

Ned held on tightly to the unconscious elf, making sure he did not slip under, again. He was relieved to see hands stretched out to assist. Everyone that was nearby, pulled and tugged, until both Ned and Thranduil were safely back, on the walkway.

Thranduil was awake as soon as he was on solid ground. He was choking now, until some of the water spewed from his mouth.

"As master of this town, I wish to extend my greatest of thanks to you. You have saved my son's life and are, therefore, a civic –"The man's voice was cut short when he noticed that the 'man', lying at his feet; still trying to catch his breath, was an elf, "This is an outrage!! AN ELF!! WHAT IS AN ELF DOING AMIDST US!! ARREST HIM!!" Thranduil was roughly hauled to his feet by the crowd.

A small voice spoke up, "Wait, father! He saved my life! Please, do not arrest him."

"Silence, boy, do not get involved in matters that you do not understand!!" The town's master addressed his son, sternly.

Thranduil could not believe the events that were taking place. He frantically scanned the crowd for Celebrial but found no signs of her anywhere, _'She must have gotten away. Good, at least she will not get caught – who knows what these edain will do to any elf that has the misfortune of running into them.'_ Without warning a heavy rod landed on his back. He hissed in pain and surprise. This was followed by another and another until he could no longer keep track of the amount of strikes that landed on him.

Soon, the now angry mob was kicking him brutally in every part of the elf they could get a hold of. Fists joined the equation. All he could do was curl up and try to protect himself as much as possible, but his efforts proved useless.

The crowd took awhile before they grew tired of their cruel sport. Thranduil lifted his head and stared dazedly around the crowd. All he saw were jeers, sneers and menacing laughter coming from everyone. He frantically looked around, hoping to see someone with at least, a little compassion.

The Guards dragged him towards jailhouse. Thranduil continued to watch the crowd as they passed. They had him bound in chains in such a way that he could barely move; even his neck had a chain around it. He was even gladder now, that Celebrial had not been caught as well.

Spitting at him, the crowd began calling Thranduil cruel names. Some even went so far as to pull on the tips of his ears mercilessly.

Thranduil only continued glancing around. He finally spotted a boy that was sobbing – it was the same one that he had saved.

"I am so sorry" The boy mouthed.

Thranduil smiled with all the kindness he could muster through his split lip and shook his head in indication that the child had nothing to be sorry for.

Җ

The guards continued to drag Thranduil until they made it inside the jailhouse. They threw him into one of the empty cells – none too gently and they did not care a wit whether they caused him more hurt.

"Oi, elf, what a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this," The prisoner, who was directly across from him, asked in a harsh voice.

Thranduil just ignored him. He sat in one of the corners with his knees bent so that he could rest his chin on them. He did not care to find out what injuries he had sustained but he knew that both of his stitched wounds were now torn open.

"Elf, 'm speakin' to ya!"

The elf glared at the prisoner – his eyes piercing through the gloom of the jailhouse. After a long moment of glaring, he continued staring at the floor.

His wrists and ankles were still shackled and the chain around his neck was attached to a metallic hoop on the wall. He still had only his breeches on. He figured that they must have confiscated his clothes and weapons.

He heard heavy footsteps come towards his cell, "Elf, it is time for our session." The guard spoke with a suave voice.

"And what session would that be?" Thranduil's voice sounded rough to his own ears but it still carried a note of defiance.

"It is quite simple. I give you questions and you must answer them."

"And if I refuse to answer them?"

"You will bare the consequences." Two gigantic men stepped forward and flanked the guard, "First question, who are you?"

Thranduil kept his mouth tightly closed. He would not answer the guard at any cost.

"It is going to be like that, then?" The guard snapped his fingers and the large men took another step towards Thranduil. One of them landed a heavy punch to his jaw while the other punched him harshly in the stomach. Thranduil doubled over in pain, "That was merely a demonstration of what these gentlemen are capable of, so I advise that you answer the questions. Second question, where are you from?"

Still, Thranduil kept his silence.

The guard nodded to the men, who assaulted Thranduil with punches until he was on the floor trying to fend off the fists. His nose was now flowing with blood as was his mouth, his lip was more swollen than it was before, he sported a cut on his bruised cheek and his entire body was covered in blood and bruises. There were also possible broken bones adding to his many injuries.

The questioning and defiance carried on through the day and well into the night, "The people say they saw you with another – a woman. Is she an elf too, your wife, perhaps?"

Thranduil's blood ran cold. He had hoped that they did not find out about her or go searching for her. If he could keep at least one elf safe by keeping quiet then he would gladly bare the consequences of silence.

"Perhaps you know of her whereabouts?"

Thranduil paid for keeping quiet with brutal attacks that did not stop till he was half-conscious.

"You know, we will hunt her down and find her – with or without your assistance." The guard turned abruptly and left, followed closely by the goons.

Thranduil could not help his sigh from escaping. He had a lot of pain but his main concern was for Celebrial. She proved to be good at disappearing if she wanted to and he hoped that she could stay hidden. The elf thought of his ever loyal stead, as well. As long as they were both safe, he was content, _'be careful out there, Celebrial. Keep an eye out for danger and keep Barasath safe, as well.'_ With them in his thoughts he drifted off to a painful slumber with his back against the cold wall.

Җ

They finally came to a stop once they were well away from the town and Celebrial collapsed to the ground in relief. Barasath opted to keep his distance.

"Please tell me that you are not still mad at me." Barasath snorted and glared at her, if horses could glare, "I had no choice; we had to leave him. We would have been useless to him if we got ourselves caught, as well. At least we have a chance to come up with an escape plan."

Barasath did not look convinced but he turned and walked around the area, slowly.

Celebrial listened when she heard hounds in the far distance, "Oh, no, they have come for us. Barasath, it will be prudent if we did not allow them to find us! Let us fly!"

Since the horse did not allow Celebrial to ride him, she had no choice but to flee on foot. The made it to the eaves of Greenwood. The elleth scaled one of the larger trees without looking to see if the horse found a hiding-place, for it was easy for him to conceal himself in the thick foliage thanks to his black coat.

The hunters were soon at the eaves and the leader spoke, "I know they came this way!! Scour the area and do not stop till they are found!!"

The men, with their dogs separated and began their earnest search.

Before they went about their tasks, the leader spoke up, "Do not go in too deep – this forest is infested with dangerous elves!!"

Celebrial stared at a dog that was barking up the tree she was in. She heard a number of footsteps approach said dog, _'Oh no.'_

Җ

Thranduil awoke to the sound of soft footsteps that echoed softly. Even though the light was dim he could make out the form of a child walking slowly towards him. Once the child got close enough, the golden-elf saw that it was the same boy who he had rescued earlier, "You should not be here." He whispered gently.

"I know, but as long as my papa does not know that I am here, then I will not get into any trouble."

"It is unwise to disobey your parents even if they do not find out about it."

"My mama used to say the same thing when she was alive."

"Your mother died?" Thranduil could not believe that the child lost a parent at such a young age.

The boy nodded, "Papa said she got very sick and no one could make her better, again."

Thranduil studied the boy in front of him. He had thick, brown curls that just covered his neck. His eyes were large and brown, filled with the innocence of youth. His cheeks were dirtied, perhaps from the day's play, but he could still detect redness in them.

The boy saw that the elf was studying him, yet he did not shy away from the intense eyes – he had nothing to hide from this being, "My name is Asher and I am five years old. What is your name and how old are you?"

"Can you keep a secret?" At the boy's multiple nods, he continued, "You must give me your word that you will not tell anyone what I am about to tell. I look like this because I did not tell anyone about myself."

The boy vaguely saw a bruise on a swollen cheek, "You got punished for not giving them your name?"

"Yes, that is how important it is that you do not tell anyone who I am." Thranduil searched the child's eyes, searching for understanding and the promise. Once he found them, he continued in a whisper to make sure none of the prisoners or guards could hear them, "There is a reason why my name is a secret; not even a friend of mine knows who I am. I am the crown prince of Greenwood the Great, my name is Thranduil, my mother's name is Theliel and my father's name is Oropher. They are the king and queen of Greenwood. As for my age, you will never believe me." His blue eyes sparkled.

The child could only gape at the information he just received, "You are a prince?"

"Yes, of the elves of Greenwood, but you _must not_ tell _anyone _of this, unless I say you can." Thranduil put as much emphasis on keeping the secret as possible, but he felt he could trust Asher.

"I promise I will never tell anyone." Asher promised only as solemnly as a child his age could, but it was still a promise he did not intend breaking, "You never told me how old you are."

Thranduil chuckled slightly, "As I said, you would never believe me."

"But I will, I really will."

The child looked so sincere that the elf could not refuse, "A thousand years old. I just reached my majority."

"No, you cannot be a thousand years old; you do not even look a thousand."

"I told you that you would not believe me. But I truly am."

Asher was still shocked but he was beginning to accept the fact, he did say he would believe the elf, and so he shall.

"You better get going before you are caught."

Asher looked disappointed. He really liked this elf and did not want to leave him, "I do not want to go."

Thranduil went closer to the boy and cupped one of his cheeks, "It is alright, everything will turn out fine in the end but you have to go before you are caught and I do not want you getting into trouble because of me." The boy bowed his head and his lips were pouting, Thranduil still held his face and whispered as gently as possible, "You are a brave little boy, Asher and I know this because you stood up for me in front of everybody and accepted me for what I am." Thranduil smiled ever so slightly when he felt the cheek warming underneath his hand.

Asher finally nodded and turned to leave, when he remembered something, "I almost forgot." He turned back to the elf and slipped his tiny arms through the bars and around Thranduil's neck and awkwardly hugged him, "Thank you for saving me today, prince...prince Thran...prince Thran – "

Thranduil felt his own cheeks grow warmer at the child's show of affection, "Thran - du - il." Thranduil pronounced every syllable to make it easier for the boy to remember, "And please, no prince – just Thranduil. We are friends now – that is, if you want to be."

Asher's face brightened considerably, "Of course." He squealed in delight. Thranduil waved his hands up and down and put a finger to his swollen lips to indicate to the boy to soften his voice, "Oh, I forgot." He whispered, "Thank you, pr...Thran - du - il." Asher quickly dashed for the door and ran out into the night.

Thranduil shook his head and watched the child's departure. It saddened him to think that a child of five was left without a mother. What would he have done if he lost his mother at a young age? He decided not to dwell on it much longer. He decided on catching up on some sleep, if that was possible with the loud snoring coming from the man that spoke to him earlier. And if he did not sleep that night then maybe he could sing softly to himself.

Җ

Just when Celebrial felt that her heart could not take any more, the leader called off the hunt when he found no sign of the elf in the tree of which one of the hounds was barking up at, "It is getting dark and the forest darker, we best head back and try again tomorrow!"

Celebrial watched them go. She would wait until they were out of sight before climbing down. Her wait was rewarded and soon the men were almost back at where they came from, "That was a close call. Come, we better find a better hiding-place." They came across the same rocks where she and Thranduil burned the corpses. She sighed at everything she saw which reminded her of Thranduil. She growled as she did not want to miss that irritating elf, but it seemed to be deafeningly quiet without him.

The horse continued to stand and keep watch for any more trouble; he missed his master terribly.

Celebrial could tell that the horse was troubled by the absence of Thranduil, "You have not eaten since we left – you must be hungry." The horse ignored her attempts at trying to feed him and threatened her when she came too close. When she had enough she threw the grass to the ground, "Ag, confound, you beast!! You are as infuriating as your master is!!" She sat down in huff with both her legs and arms crossed

She stayed in that same position all night, thinking of different plans. Perhaps the best way to go about it was to make a direct escape attempt. Why she bothered trying to save the elf she did not know.

Җ

At dawn, Thranduil heard the distinct sound of footsteps approaching. He groaned, for he knew what was about to come.

"Greetings, elf," The man's grin was sickening; "I do hope you are ready for this morning's session."

Thranduil felt numb and all he could do was widen his eyes as he watched the three step into his cell and prepare for the questioning.

Җ

TBC

God bless and ride free, citizens.


	5. Chapter 5

Treacherous Paths

**Treacherous Paths**

A/N: I am so sorry for two mess-ups I've made two chapters ago. They have been pointed out to me but at least you won't have to suffer through the mistakes at each chapter because that was probably the last you will see of it.

Disclaimer: I think we all know by now that none of J.R.R Tolkien's places or characters are mine, only the ones I do own are mine.

**Chapter 5:**

Back at the palace of Greenwood

"Have there not been any sightings of the prince anywhere!?" Demanded Oropher, he was piercing them with eyes that could very nearly bore a whole through any wall.

The scouts had just returned from scouting the southern parts of Greenwood; mainly searching for their prince, who had yet to return, "No, my lord, the prince was no where to be found – we have searched every where we could think of."

Theliel turned from one of the tapestries she was staring at, "He must be out there some where; he could not have just disappeared."

Oropher turned to her, "This is Thranduil we are talking about. He is foolish enough to do anything to follow his heart."

"What are you saying, my husband?"

He dismissed the scouts and sat back down heavily on his throne, "It is obvious that he went to visit our mannish neighbours. I would not be surprised if got himself caught and found himself in a bit of trouble. Those edain are ruthless and have not a care in the world for others but themselves."

Theliel could not believe what she just heard from Oropher, "Why would he go so far out?"

"Because he wanted to," Oropher stood up and started pacing, "He wanted to defy me; he wanted to show me that he will not submit to my will."

Theliel watched her husband pacing and shook her head, "I do not think he is rebelling against you. Yes, it was wrong for him to go against your orders – you being the head of the house as well as this realm, but he felt lead to find out more about our neighbours and mortals, in general." She went over and placed a steady hand on his shoulder halting his pacing, "Do not fault him for this, my love. Has he not always done what you asked of him? Has not been ever so loyal to you and honoured you?" Tears started forming in her eyes – she could feel pain in the bond that she shared with her son, "Besides, he's paying a very high price for what he did."

Oropher looked at her, stunned by what she just revealed to him.

Җ.

Celebrial stood from her seated position gracefully. The plan she had come up with was filled with risks, but just being her and Barasath, it was the only plan she could come up with, "Now, Barasath, I am going to need your assistance. You have a very vital role to play, without your help there is no way for us to free Erynion. What say you?"

The horse gazed at her as though thinking about it.

"Please, this is important. If you ever want to see your beloved master again you are going to have to co-operate."

Barasath nodded as only a horse can and walked over to her.

"Good horse, Erynion will be very pleased with you if this all works out." Slowly she ran her hand over his neck and across his flank. She made sure that nothing she did would startle him. She moved towards his rump hoping that her gentle strokes will get him to trust her a little more. Once she was convinced that he was becoming a little easier with her around, she stroked his nose and jaw. She leaned a little forward and pecked him on the head, "There, this is not so bad, is it?" She went to his left side and spread her hands over his back, "You are going to have to allow me to ride you. Can you do that just this once?"

The horse just stood still, not making a move towards bolting away or accepting her.

"It is only going to be a short ride; it will be all worth it in the end if we succeed and... you just have to do this, if not for me then do it for Erynion." Why was she going through so much trouble for the elf? It was not like he was worth it. She sighed; no way did she suffer through his annoyingness for nothing. Before Barasath could change his mind she leapt onto his back, _'Ai, it is a long way down.'_ She cleared her head of such thoughts, "Noro lim, we have an elf to rescue"

The horse reared on his hind legs, getting satisfaction from hearing the impossible elleth on his back squeal. If horses could laugh, he would be doing so at that moment.

"AI! Horse, this is the _last _time I am _ever _climbing onto your back again!!" She gathered her nerves together as much as possible considering that they were galloping off into the dawning light.

Җ

Thranduil never felt so much pain in his entire life before and he could barely see because of it. He was now lying on the floor and had not moved an inch since the guard and the two men left. That 'session' was far worse than the one before and he feared it would only get worse each time.

His thoughts turned to Asher and the conversation they had the night before. The child was truly unique. He wondered if his father ever find out about him sneaking off to pay him a visit – he hoped not.

As though knowing Thranduil was thinking of him, Asher stepped inside, blocking the light coming through the doorway.

Thranduil whispered to the figure, "Asher, what are you doing here? You know you are not supposed to be here."

"I am getting you out of here." The boy whispered back. He brought a ring of keys out of his pocket.

Thranduil shook his head frantically, causing his head to pound even more, "No, Asher, you can get into serious trouble, not to mention that there is no way I can escape. I am too hurt and out-numbered."

Asher stepped closer to Thranduil, "We have to try; if you stay here longer you will be killed."

"It is no good."

'I can sneak you out."

Thranduil marvelled at Asher's determination, but he was just as determined to not get the boy into any trouble, "You have already proven your bravery; you need not go through all of this for me."

"I only want to help you just like you helped me. I want to pay you back, besides you are my friend – friends help each other." Asher noticed that there was something different about the elf other than the fact that his entire body was a mess, "What happened to all your pretty hair."

Thranduil wanted to snort at the fact that his hair was called pretty but he knew the boy meant well, "They chopped it off." He said, bitterly.

"Why?"

"To be spiteful; you see, our hair is one of our biggest pride and joy just after our children. Also, without it, 'I am not as pretty any more' according to the guard who is in charge of our 'sessions'." They were referring to the fact that Thranduil's hair was cropped so short that it stood in ragged spikes.

"That was mean of him. Will it ever grow back?"

"Eventually. Now, you best get out of here."

"Not without you." He searched through the keys and tried each one until he found the right one. He then found the key to unlocking the chain around his neck and the shackles on his wrists and ankles. He was hissing and wincing at the wounds Thranduil suffered from.

"This is not a good idea – there is still no way for me to escape from Lake-town." Thranduil, just then, heard something, "What was that?" It sounded like, "A horse?"

All of a sudden there were shouts followed by a massive horse breaking into the jail-house. Asher screamed in fright and Thranduil quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, "It is alright, these are my friends. It seems they are helping you to rescue me. My friends, you are a sight for sore eyes."

"Let us skip the greetings and get out of here."

Barasath lowered himself to the ground to make it easier for the injured elf to climb on. Before he did, he slowly went down on one knee to look at the boy in the eyes and took a tiny hand into his, "I will never forget what you did for me nor will I ever forget you, Asher. Your name will always be remembered amongst the elves." He stood a little less gracefully than he would have liked and held his hand over his heart and nodded.

Asher stood in awe at the being before him. No longer was he the elf that lay helpless on the floor, but every inch the crown prince that he was, despite the blood and bruises that covered him and the torn breeches he was wearing, "I will never forget you either -." He stopped himself just in time from saying the prince's name in remembrance to the promise he made.

Thranduil smiled and slowly climbed onto his horse, trying to stop himself from wincing. He heard a crowd of people running towards them so he ordered his horse to ride swiftly, "Farewell, penneth. May the light in your eyes never fade!!" He shouted from the back of the horse and never stopped looking back as the mighty stallion dashed away at a frightful speed. The crowds had to manoeuvre out of the way of the charging horse.

Asher stared back, never taking his eyes off of them till they were out of his line of sight. He felt tears roll down his chubby cheeks – he was going to miss the kind elf that was Thran-du-il.

Җ

The horse never once slowed even when they were well into the fields between the Misty Mountains and Greenwood. They heard that they were still being pursued.

"Noro lim, Barasath," Ordered Thranduil and the horse did just that.

Celebrial thought that it would be impossible but she stood corrected. They were going at such a speed that the colours around them mixed into one and she could no longer make sense of where they were going. She felt the horse swerve in every direction and occasionally leap. Celebrial gritted her teeth and held on even tighter onto the main and leaned down lower over his neck.

They made it deep inside the forest. When he knew it was safe, Thranduil commanded his horse to stop which he did and once again lowered himself to the soft ground. Once his feet touched the ground, he collapsed.

"Erynion, Erynion! Speak to me." Thranduils eyes remained shut. She felt for a pulse and a breath, when she found that he was still alive, albeit barely, she took whatever water she had left and used it to tend to his many wounds, "I am afraid I do not have enough bandages."

Thranduil moaned when he felt the sting of the water touching his sensitive skin.

"Shh, it will not be much longer. I am afraid there is not much I can do. We are going to have to get you home, soon."

Thranduil's eyes opened to a slit, "Thank you." He croaked, "I owe you my life...again."

Celebrial smiled a bit; she was beginning to warm up to him. Her smile turned into a frown when Thranduil was having a coughing fit, "Easy, here drink some water."

Thranduil was too weak to lift his head so Celebrial helped to support it. She slowly tilted the bottle of water to make sure he did not choke on it. When he turned his head away she lifted the bottle again, "You see, this is what you get for trying to be a hero all the time."

Thranduil struggled to get the words out, "It...'twas...worth...it."

Celebrial sighed, "Do you really think it was worth your life to save an edain, even if it was a child?"

"Aye...I do."

"You are truly hard to figure out." She returned to treating him. She lifted his right arm and noticed an old scar that was there, "I noticed it before but never bothered asking what happened."

Thranduil looked at the scar, as well, "I was bitten there by a snake many years ago – I was still an elfling." He, then, added quietly, "I nearly lost my life."

"You seem to enjoy coming close to death's door, do you not? A thought struck her, then, "That explains why you reacted so badly to seeing the snake carved on the door of the inn – it must have brought back memories."

Thranduil tiredly nodded, "To this day, I still cannot handle them, and do not tell anyone of this, but I still suffer from nightmares."

Celebrial did not say anything and got a fire going. The forest reminded her of days long past, days she had lost and longed to get back. She heard Thranduil's steady breathing and saw his eyes were closed, "Sleep well...mellon." She watched as Barasath curl around his master.

Җ

Light began shining through the trees, making the forest look less ominous. Celebrial went to go check on Thranduil. His eyes were still closed tight; making his thick, long lashes look even starker against his pale cheeks, "Wake up, we need to get you home, but you must eat something first." She gently tapped one of his cheeks.

Thranduil groaned; he was in too much pain to respond.

"Come now, I can wager that you are dying to see your family, again." She gently helped him to sit up and allowed him to lean back against his horse.

Thranduil grimaced in agony – some of his ribs were definitely broken, "I do not suppose you have anything for pain." He said with his teeth clenched.

She could see tiny droplets of sweat form on his forehead, "I only have the herbs I gave you before."

Thranduil nodded eagerly. He did not care how they tasted, as long as they could give him respite. He slowly chewed the leaves and swallowed once they were grounded into a pulp. He took the water Celebrial offered and drank large gulps.

"Steady with the water or there will not be enough left for the rest of the journey."

Something just occurred to Thranduil, "What are you going to do once all this is over?"

Celebrial sadly looked down, "I do not know."

"Why do you not come and stay with the elves here? They will surely welcome you."

Celebrial slowly shook her head, "There is nothing left for me here."

"Could you stand to be alone, again and not have anyone to keep you company?"

"Which ever way I go I will be alone."

"Not necessarily. At least here, you will have me around."

"And you think you will suffice?" For once she did not mean it in a sarcastic way but in jest.

Thranduil smiled teasingly, "What do you think?"

"I think," She began, "That you will suffice." She slowly leaned forward and opened her mouth ever so slightly and her eyes began to close. Just as Thranduil was about to respond she pulled away, "I am so sorry. I should never have –. "

Thranduil held up a hand, "Please, you have nothing to apologize for. I was just as much in the wrong." Both hearts were beating much faster than what was normal and both of their cheeks were burning.

An awkward silence took over. They were both too embarrassed to look at each other. When it became too much, Celebrial decided to break the silence, "I used to spend a lot of my time climbing trees as any elf would. My mother used to get so worried and my father was always there to reassure her that he would always catch me should I fall."

Thranduil did not know which shocked him more: the fact that she was the first to break the silence or that she was sharing a piece of her past. He did not speak in fear of causing her to close up again.

"He did once, you know. My foot had slipped and he was there to catch me when I fell. He laughed when I told him I wanted to climb up again and he said that I was a true tree-sprite, just like my mother. I got my silver hair and violet eyes from her; as well as my temper." She laughed

To him, it was like seeing a completely different person. Gone was the scowling, only to be replaced by mirth. He was listening intently, taking in every word she said.

"We were a small family – just the three of us, but we were happy. I still remember the picnics we used to have; they were always a special treat. My adar always provided the meat and wood while my mother was always working on her vegetable garden. Both my parents loved to sing while they worked and sometimes I would join in. I could never imagine my life without them." A small sob escaped her throat.

Thranduil shifted painfully closer to her and hesitantly placed his strong arms around her.

She did not shy away; instead, she leaned into his embrace, "I have never sung since they died. My whole world shattered along with the village. I became so angry afterwards that I could never live – not really. All I wanted was to get my revenge on every goblin I came across and avenge my parents." The tears just kept on coming and her voice began to get shaky, "I miss them so much and I miss all the friends I had." She continued to cry into Thranduil's strong chest. His scent was overwhelming as well as comforting and her healing began.

They stayed like that for many hours. By the time she got her crying under control the sun was already setting. She sniffed and gently pulled herself out of Thranduil's embrace, "It is time I checked up on your wounds."

Thranduil nodded and lied down. The day's events played over and over through his head, "Please, come back with me." He said, suddenly.

She looked up from her task, "There are too many reasons why I cannot."

"Like what."

She went back to her self-appointed task, "Where am I going to stay? I am not used to living in a society. I am too used to living in the wild. And I will never fit in."

"I can find a place for you and I will help you to adjust. Besides, my mother will love you. Unless you really wish to dwell out there alone, then I will not stop you."

"Why are you so concerned about me?" She asked softly. Her eyes remained fixed on her hands for she could not look into his eyes.

"Because, over the past few days, I grew attached to you, I was trying to deny that fact that I was starting to like you despite the arguments we always had. And just now I realized...I love you." Thranduil thought his cheeks were going to burn a hole right through.

She looked up so quickly that she almost smacked her head into Thranduil's chin and her eyes were almost as large as plates, "What did you just say?"

"I said that...that...im meleth le." He muttered so softly that she had to strain her ears to hear.

Celebrial felt her own cheeks redden. The most handsome elf she ever saw just confessed his love for her – _her_, of all women. She searched her heart for answers, _'You know you love him too, you knew since the day he offered you his clothes.'_ She realized that she still had them on. She looked deeply into his eyes, "I love you too." Like before, she leaned closer to him, and this time she did not stop. Tenderly their lips touched and from there the kiss deepened.

After about a minute, they broke away. Thranduil cleared his throat, "There is something I must tell you before we head back home."

Celebrial was filled with bliss and her eyes had their lights returned to them, never had she looked so beautiful. She was now with the most beautiful elf in all of Arda and she now had a home, "What is it, meleth?" She felt like giggling like a little girl again at that last word.

Thranduil smiled a bit, but it soon faded, "I have a confession to make. My name is not really Erynion."

The elleth continued to smile and look up eagerly at him, "Well, what is your name?"

This was it, "My true name is Thranduil, I am the crown prince of Greenwood the Great. My parents are Oropher and Theliel – the king and queen of the realm, I am their only son."

Just when she thought nothing could spoil the moment, he went and said something like that, "Y...you the pr...prince of Greenwood." The colour of her cheeks faded and she was looking rather pale.

"I wanted to tell you sooner but I first needed to trust you." He pleaded for her understanding.

"I cannot believe you." Her cheeks suddenly went red, but this time, with anger, "I just confessed everything to you." She spoke in a dangerously quiet tone, "Just when I finally open up, you do this to me and to think I still love you." Tears pooled in her gorgeous eyes and her lips thinned. Without warning, she slapped him so hard that his head turned. For the third time, she walked away, except this time, she was genuinely hurt.

The slap hurt him worse that what it should of, considering the fact that his cheek was still highly sensitive, but what hurt the more was seeing her back disappearing through the thickness of the trees, "Celebrial, saes, come back!"

Җ

Thranduil was limping along and using his horse for support. He was a gifted tracker so it was easy for him to figure out which directions Celebrial used. Making it even easier was the fact that she did not bother covering up her tracks. He peered through the trees and found her kneeling on the ground in one of the glades and sobs were wracking her entire body. His heart went out to her, "Celebrial." He said her name ever so softly. He tentatively approached her and lowered himself to her level in an agonizing effort.

She felt his strong arms go around her but she shoved them away.

"Celebrial, meleth nin, we both needed each other's trust in order to reveal our past and secrets. Saes, understand that what I did was necessary."

"After everything, you still felt that you could not trust me?" She asked with bitterness.

"Well, what would you have done in my place? A lot happened all at once. There was never really good time to tell you all of this until now."

She calmed a bit and leaned into Thranduil's chest, she knew he was right and that she would have done the same. He immediately wrapped his loving arms around her. She turned slightly in his arms to look at him, "Do you realize what this means?" Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

He shook his head.

"It means that this will never work out."

He frowned "What do you mean?"

"You are a prince and I can be considered a ranger. You will be required to be with a lady."

He brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead and kissed her tenderly where his fingers were a second ago, "You are a lady – _the_ lady of my heart."

She smiled up at him and once again leaned into him, "What will the others say? Not to mention your parents?"

He kissed the top of her head, "Who cares what they say? As long as we have each other, nothing else matters."

They both sighed in content while staring up at the stars. Thranduil began singing, but this time, it was a happier song about love and life.

Celebrial smiled when she felt the vibrations coming from his chest and she loved listening to his deep voice, as it once again, carried her to places beyond this world.

Җ

The very next morning, the trio slowly made their way home. When it became too painful for Thranduil to walk, he rode on Barasath's back. Throughout the journey the new couple held hands, never once letting go.

It was a blissful stroll through the forest and each one was content. Yes, it was turning out to be a very fine day, indeed.

Җ

TBC

I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

God bless and ride free, citizens.


	6. Chapter 6

Treacherous Paths

**Treacherous Paths**

A/N: Final chapter up. Thanks to my reviewers: Elinde, Queen Su and Lady Ambreanna; few though, you may be, each review played a part in getting me going and I appreciate everyone of you ladies. Here are live, miniature Thranduils for all of you, just be careful, he does not like to be smothered to much .

Disclaimer: Recognizable characters and places do not belong to me and I am not making any money out of this, I just do it for enjoyment. (Does anyone really read disclaimers nowadays?)

**Chapter 6:**

"Thranduil, what were the sessions you spoke of?" Celebrial, who was walking beside the horse holding Thranduil's hand, asked more out of curiosity than anything.

Thranduil could not figure out a time when he might have mentioned any session, it was not something that just came up in conversation, "I do not recall telling you about the sessions." He frowned a bit at her. It was not intended for her but more out of puzzlement.

The silver elleth looked forward, "I heard you mumble the word in your sleep quite a few times. The rest of what you said I could not make out."

The elven prince looked ahead, his features became grim. He did not want to tell her what they were, but he had promised himself that he would no longer keep secrets from her, "There was always this one guard that came by." He shuddered when the image of the man came to his mind, "His hair was always neatly combed back and his clothes were always tidy, even his voice was silky smooth – nothing evil looking about him except if you looked into his eyes. They were empty, yet still filled with malice." Thranduil had to take another breath, "He would come twice a day for what he would call our 'session'. There were two other men, who were always with him, that were much larger, I would say about 6'7, 6'8 in height and I would not bother estimating their weight. Their arms and legs would be about the size of a baby tree-trunk. Anyway, they would come by and the guard would start asking me questions about where I came from and who I was."

"You could have lied about yourself and it would have made it a lot easier."

He shook his head, "I was not going to give him any satisfaction that he had, in some way, defeated me."

Celebrial smiled tenderly up at him, "I understand."

The ellen returned the smile, "I know." He returned his sights to the path ahead, "What kept me silent was the fact that I was not going to betray my father or our people, and me looking like this is the result of that."

Celebrial cupped his cheek with her free hand, "I am sorry that I did not come sooner. I now also realize how important it was for you to keep your identity, I am sorry for that too."

Thranduil could not help teasing her, "Seize with the apologizing; I do not want you grovelling at my feet seeking mercy and redemption."

Celebrial smacked his arm lightly.

Thranduil then looked down at her, "You have nothing to be sorry for, for it was a small price to pay in saving that child's life."

"I remember him. A beautiful boy, was he not?"

Thranduil's smile brightened, "He had come to me the night before just to give me a hug and to thank me – he risked getting into trouble just to do that, because he was not to step foot inside the jail-house. He told me his name was Asher, he said he lost his mother due to an illness and he is only five years old, Celebrial."

She shook her head, sadly, "Poor child. Did you tell him who you are?"

"Aye, but I knew he would not break his vow of secrecy – I could tell. He also promised to believe me if I told him how old I was." Laughter could be heard in his voice.

"And did you?"

"Aye, 1 000 years exactly, I had never seen a child's eyes grow so big before, I thought they were going to pop right out of his head."

Both began laughing hysterically till tears were running down their cheeks, "At least" Thranduil started to say but the words would not come out from laughing too hard. He tried again, "At least he made a valiant effort in trying to believe me." That statement had only caused the two to laugh even harder, even though Thranduil's ribs were aching in protest and he almost could not breathe from both his laughing and the pain.

Once she finally got her laughter under control, Celebrial made a confession, "I have been keeping track of the years that went by while I was out in the wilds and when it was my begetting day; I worked out that I am now 997 years old, I have not quite reached my majority yet."

Thranduil did a double-take, "So young? You do not look it or act like it. I was beginning to believe that you were older than me. But when I look at you now, I see youth returning to you." Then he added rather shyly, "And you should laugh more often, your eyes sparkle brighter when you do and you have a beautiful laugh, like that of tinkling bells."

Celebrial did not know where to look or how to hide her blush, "I cannot say anything about the tinkling of bells part, but my eyes sparkling, is probably caused by tears of mirth." She mumbled.

Thranduil laughed at that, "Nay, your glow has brightened much since you finally opened up to me and allowed healing to begin. You are far more beautiful than when we first met and even then you could make any ellen eat out of your hand."

The silver-haired elleth did not know how much more she could take, "Will you stop?" Her embarrassment colouring her voice, but then she noticed something through the trees, "Is that not a village up ahead?"

"The fourth one we have come across. We are now close to the capital."

"Fourth? How can that be? This is the first one I have seen."

"Much has changed since you were last here. I am surprised that you did not pick up on them with all the singing. But in the latter days the folk have been forced to find ways and means to conceal themselves. There is no real reason for concern at the moment, since the last attack that was attempted was on your village, yet we keep our vigil still. My father would often send out scouts to patrol different areas of the forest, although, if you asked me, he is making a mountain out of a mole-hill."

"Do you go out on any of the patrols?"

"Almost every time; in fact, that is where he thought I was going when I decided to go on this quest."

"Is he not going to be wrathful when he finds out you deceived him?"

"He probably already figured it out."

"Are you not afraid of what he might do to you when you return and bringing me along with you?"

The prince sighed, "He has been angry with me before. What makes this any different?"

Celebrial was sad for her new love, but her sadness quickly changed to anxiety when she heard the singing grow louder.

The prince, though, was now beaming, "Home, Celebrial; we are finally home."

Җ

The End

Final note: I am planning on turning this into a series. If you guys think that I should just stop here, then I will. But if you want me to make this into a series then please let me know.

God bless and ride free, citizens.


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